Trolley for electric railways



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

P. F. SMITH. TROLLEY FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

No. 460,163. Patented Sept. 29, 1891.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERIC F. SMITH, OF WVOBURN, MASSACHUSETTS.

TROLLEY FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 460,163, dated September 29, 1891.

Application filed December 20, 1890- Serial No. 375,304:- (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Fnnnnnrc F. SMITH, of lVoburn, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Trolleys for Electric Railway Cars, of which thefollowing description, together with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in trolleys used chiefly with the overhead system of electrical railways; and it consists in makin g the two flanges of the trolley separate disks supported by a spindle upon which they freely turn and also upon which they may freely slide within prescribed limits, and I preferably control these movable disks by means of springs which are applied so as constantly to force the said disks toward one another, but at the same time so as to permit the said disks to be forced apart when any unusual pressure is brought to bear upon their inner surfaces by the trolley-wire which runs between them.

My invention is intended to prevent the trolley from being thrown off the trolley-wire when the car is passing around curves, and thus obviate the great annoyance in this respect incident to the present construction of trolleys.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a vertical section of my improved trolley and its spindle and the supporting-yoke whichis attached to the upper end of the trolley-pole. Fig. 2 isa horizontal section through the centerof the spindle and trolley in a plane 0c 00, Fig. 1. Fig. is an elevation of my improved trolley with springs applied upon the outside of the trolley-disks instead of within the hollow spindle, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4: illustrates a modification in which the spiral springs are placed around the outside of the spindle u pon each end and the trolley-disks in contact.

Referring to the drawings, A A are the trolley flanges or disks, formed in the shape of flat truncated cones. These two cones may be arranged to bear directly against one another; but I prefer to place upon the spindle between these two cone disks a'bearingn'ing B, upon which the trolley-wire will run when the car is moving in substantially straight lines. The particular benefit of this bearingring is that when it is worn out by the'action of the trolley-wire it maybe readily replaced by taking off one of the trolley-disks, removing the worn ring, and slipping a new one upon the spindle in its place.

0 is the trolley-spindle. In Figs. 1 and 2 it is shown as a hollow tube with slots 0 extending inward from each end, in which slots pins d are inserted, and to each of which pins is attached one end of a spiral springs, placed within the hollow spindle, the normal condition of the spring being that of close contact in its several convolutions, so that when it is extended and the ends fastened to the said pins (Z, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, it will tend to pull those pins inward or toward one another along the slots 0 in the spindle. To prevent the trolley-disks from binding against the pins (Z when they are forced outward by the trolley-wire, I place washers upon the outside of each trolley-disk, preferablyin circular depressions, against which the ends of the pins d are brought to bear by the action of the spring 3.

The hollow spindle C is supported by trunnions D, which project from the supportingyoke E. When the two sides of the yoke E are integral with a single cylindrical stem into which the trolley-pole is inserted, I provide a removable trunnion D, Fig. 1, which is screwed into the arm of the yoke upon one side. I prefer to place the spring 8 within a hollow spindle, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, as it is thereby free from exposure to the weather and from contact with extraneous obj ect-s. It will be readily understood, however, that a spiral spring may be placed around the outside of the spindle upon eitherside of the trolley, as illustrated in Fig. 4, or flat leafsprings F may be placed upon the spindle upon each side of the trolley, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. at the removable trunnion D extends entirely through the hollow spindle, one end of this trunnion being provided with a head or shoulder and the other with a screw-thread which screws into the yoke E; also, the pins d are fastened to Washers or rings 7' upon the spin dle O, and slots 0 for the pins to slide in are made in the bearing-ring B.

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The essential feature of niy invention is to provide a trolley the two flanges of which will readily and independently yield to any unusual pressure brought to bear upon them by reason of an abrupt curvein the trolley-wire, and which also will return automatically to their normal position as soon as the pressure is relieved. This construction will, as heretofore stated, prevent the trolley from being thrown off the Wire, as frequently happens when the car passes around a curve, as at a street-corner, at its normal rate of speed, for the reason that as soon as the trolley-wire presses upon either flange with a force sufficient to overcome the tension of the spring that flange will yield by sliding along the spindle away from the pressure of the trolleywire, and the other flange will yield in the opposite direction as the convex side of the curved Wire presses upon it, and as soon as the curve is passed the two disks or flanges of the trolley will assume their normal position upon the spindle.

I claim- 1. A trolley for an electric car, consisting of asupporting-spindle, a pair of independent disks which freely move thereon, and one or more springs which constantly tend to press said disks toward one another, substantially as described.

2. In a trolley for an electric car, the combination of a supporting-spindle, a pair of truncated-cone flanges adapted to be independently moved thereon,and a spring to hold them normally in contact and to permit them to be readily separated, substantially as described.

3. In a trolley for an electric car, the combination of a supporting-spindle, a pair of independent disks which move freely thereon, an intermediate bearing-ring upon the same spindle, and a spring which holds said disks normally in contact with the bearing-ring, substantially as described.

4. In a trolley for an electric car, the combination of. a pair of flanges which move independently of one another, a hollow supporting spindle therefor, a pair of flange-controlling pins which project through slots in said spindle, and a spring therein to move said pins toward one another, substantially as described.

FREDERIC F. SMITH.

Witnesses:

R. L. ROBERTS, J. L. BELFLER. 

